I have been collecting old and odd vending and coin op stuff: old condom machine, 1950 cigarette machine, rockola phonette box, old stamp machine, phone booth, etc.No idea what Im doing fiddling with these so hoping to get some insights on repairing older vending machines I encounter.

So I got this old condom machine. Takes quarters. With quarter in place and turning the knob the quarter does not get accepted and the knob doesnt turn all the way home.I cant see anything obviously wrong as I take it apart. Pretty sure all the guts are in there as I had to impression a key to even get in. Any thoughts to help a noob out?

The pictures below show the coin slot, then the interior in the order stuff comes out. Hope that helps.

a_gunslinger wrote:I have been collecting old and odd vending and coin op stuff: old condom machine, 1950 cigarette machine, rockola phonette box, old stamp machine, phone booth, etc.No idea what Im doing fiddling with these so hoping to get some insights on repairing older vending machines I encounter.

So I got this old condom machine. Takes quarters. With quarter in place and turning the knob the quarter does not get accepted and the knob doesnt turn all the way home.I cant see anything obviously wrong as I take it apart. Pretty sure all the guts are in there as I had to impression a key to even get in. Any thoughts to help a noob out?

The pictures below show the coin slot, then the interior in the order stuff comes out. Hope that helps.

A shot in the dark: I've often found it useful to think of the coin as a mechanical part (a moving part, even) involved in the operation of (duh) coin-operated devices. Ergo, that coin is itself a moving part that can become worn, bent, skewed, misaligned, seized, sticky, cruddy, etc. We all know this... however, we may forget (or, I should say, I can forget, and often) that every part that momentarily interacts with the moving-part-that-is-a-coin can also become worn, bent, skewed, etc. The interaction is key. If the twist-knob is locking-up without a quarter in it, that's to be expected of course: it's supposed to! If it's locking-up with a quarter in it, then that's bad. Bad! Ergo, the coin is not properly engaging the release for turning the knob due to wear or other damage or impediment to those parts, or the coin is skewed in the space provided for it and locking-up against other mechanical surfaces and therefore not going where it's supposed to. OK, I'm babbling again...

Try this: put in a coin and turn the knob while the machine is laid horizontal, sideways, or upside-down. Why? Because gravity could be your problem: the coin might be literally falling into a "bad" position for operation to proceed, for any number of reasons, and knowing that it works in one position but not another will indicate how the thing ought to be repaired, adjusted or shimmed. Just a thought.

I have a idea on this too. I had a condom machine. It had a Advance mechanism. It was designed to refuse the coin if the machine was empty, (no product to sell).As I recall it sold a 3 pack for a quarter.

This is all great info! Quarter s brand new it appears, but will try another one, and at various positions. Like the analogy of the machine. The inter relation of all the parts is kind of what makes me start opening these and trying to figure them out. Kind a cool.

kentdun might also be onto something - it is empty and not dispensing when nothing is in there makes complete sense. I would be pissed if I went to buy a condom, put a quarter in, and nothing came out! Esp. with a girl ready in the wings!

The condoms were stacked in columns, with a weight on each stack. So there must be some trigger that prevents the knob from turning if empty. Presumably if I find that trigger and move/trip/set it to mimic product is in there it might turn.

Ah-- I'm 99.99% sure that kentdun has nailed your problem cold, and I'm all wet. I'd bet you'll find some sort of sprung mechanical interlock between the bottom of the dispenser and the knob, though I don't see anything like that clearly in the pictures. I'd like to hear what you find in there!

Guess what! Im not sure it was the out of stock issue. I couldnt find anything that seemed like it triggered a no sale function to the knob. I kept looking and looking and turned my attention back to the coin slot. I puit a quarter in and watched as I slowly turned know. There were two metal slabs/discs that spun with the coin, and once inside two other discs rotate up to meet the coin. Two? All of a sudden it dawned on me, maybe its NOT 25 cents and that extra space was added to make it 50 cents. See below. Although you can clearly see the graphics say 25 cents. Put a second quarter in it and it worked straigh awat. Sheesh.

It did raise one other question though. I had a key impressioned for the main lock, the one to open the machine. Inside there is a second lock on the change container. I just assumed the same key would open both. Nope. Is that normal to have two seperate keys for one machine?

a_gunslinger wrote:Guess what! Im not sure it was the out of stock issue. I couldnt find anything that seemed like it triggered a no sale function to the knob. I kept looking and looking and turned my attention back to the coin slot. I puit a quarter in and watched as I slowly turned know. There were two metal slabs/discs that spun with the coin, and once inside two other discs rotate up to meet the coin. Two? All of a sudden it dawned on me, maybe its NOT 25 cents and that extra space was added to make it 50 cents. See below. Although you can clearly see the graphics say 25 cents. Put a second quarter in it and it worked straigh awat. Sheesh.

Yeah, that's just great. Now I have to eat my words a second time, just like a rabbit. "Sheesh" says it all!